Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--When a "new" year of the Chinese lunar calendar begins next week, Mississippi State students will have the opportunity to join in the celebration.
In a series of events coinciding with the Feb. 9 Chinese New Year's Festival, several university organizations are helping highlight the culture and traditions associated with a chronological record that dates to 2600 B.C.
Two Feb. 8 seminars and a Feb. 10 festival will feature music, dance, drama, and food associated with the celebration that is among the most important to the Chinese culture, said Cai Shangshu of the MSU Association of Chinese Students and Scholars.
"We are joining with the MSU Libraries, International Services Office and Student Association to help others experience this important celebration in our culture," he said.
In the Chinese lunar calendar, 2005 is both the Year of the Rooster and 4702 by ancient dating. As in American culture, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are times of celebration. "It is a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving," Shangshu said. "Most celebrating the festival stay up until midnight, when fireworks are lit to drive away evil spirits."
To introduce the celebration, ACSS students will sponsor public presentations at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Memorial Library auditorium.
On the 10th, Chinese-style dinner and entertainment will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Bost Extension Center auditorium. Tickets are $5.
The MSU Libraries, which last fall co-sponsored a Diwali celebration in cooperation with the India Student Association, are continuing to promote cultural awareness and understanding, said outreach coordinator Gail Peyton.
"We believe this to be an important part of our mission in serving the campus," Peyton said.
International Services Office director Philip Bonfanti said the collaboration with international students also helps foster cross-cultural interactions.
"By partnering with the library and the international student associations, we are able to hold awareness seminars in conjunction with the festival so that students can learn about the celebrations and attend them with a greater appreciation," he said.
For more information about Chinese New Year events, visit http://www.msstate.edu/org/acss//.
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NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information about the MSU celebration, contact ACSS faculty adviser Jilei Zhang at (662) 325-9413 or jzhang@cfr.msstate.edu.